Advanced solar pv system with robotic assembly

ABSTRACT

A cost-effective solar energy collection system, including: 1) new solar PV panel wiring and power conversion system designed to allow tracking panel-to-panel shading while maintaining maximized power output, 2) the companion new combined structural and electrical inter-panel connector system supporting the new wiring scheme, and 3) the new panel structural support for the new inter-panel connector system, 4) the robotic array assembly and installation system used to assemble the new inter-panel connector and new panel structural support system into solar array sections in the field with a robotic crawler to move the assembled solar array sections to their final positions, and 5) the post system and installer for supporting the solar array sections. It is a fully integrated solar energy system for rapid installation and higher energy output which together creates a transformative change for the solar energy field.

BACKGROUND ART

-   #US 2016/0087132 A1—Alteneiji—Mar. 24, 2016-   #US 2013/0118099 A1—Scanlon—May 16, 2013-   #US 2013/0340807 A1—Gerwing et al.—Dec. 26, 2013-   #U.S. Pat. No. 9,218,013 B2—Kikinis—Dec. 22, 2015-   #U.S. Pat. No. 8,671,930 B2—Liao—Mar. 18, 2014-   #US 2014/0312700 A1—Catthoor—Oct. 23, 2014-   #U.S. Pat. No. 9,413,287 B2—Hartelius—Aug. 9, 2016-   #U.S. Pat. No. 9,472,701 B2—Goyal—Oct. 18, 2016-   #US 2015/0178440 A1—Fink—Jun. 25, 2015

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention pertains to the field of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systemsand Installation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cost-effectiveness in solar energy collection systems, especially PV(photovoltaic) systems, is a combined function of their component cost,installation cost, and effective energy output. The energy output of asolar panel is generally maximized when directly facing the sun. Suchpanels include PV panels which directly generate electricity from light,and solar thermal panels which collect heat energy. The amount of energycollected involves several factors, two of which are the angle of thepanel from a solar-direct vector and the temperature of the panel. As anexample, PV panels generally collect energy well up to a 50 degree anglefrom the sun so long as they are not allowed to become overheated. Boththe angle and the temperature are important, and recent efforts at“dressing” the mounting of the panels on the roof for “curb appeal” withconcealing trim have only exacerbated the issue of panel thermalmanagement.

There have been multiple solar panel mounting and tracking schemes used,generally falling into the following mounting categories: fixedhorizontally on the ground or roof, fixed flat to angled roof, fixedangled from ground or roof, tracking on East-West horizontal axis(tracks sun's elevation from South), tracking on axis parallel toearth's axis (axis North-to-South and elevated to match latitude,follows sun from sunrise to sunset), and a “two axis tracking” systemwhich is mounted on a single pole and which can optimally aim panels totrack the sun across the sky any day of the year. Each of these mountingschemes has its advantages and disadvantages. Mounting fixed panels“angled from ground or roof” to improve their solar aim can increase theamount of energy collected, but this mounting scheme is generally notpopular because it is unsightly, especially so in residential settings.Mounting “angled from the ground” or “slightly angled from the roof” isthe most common commercial panel installation method. Two axis trackingoptimizes the energy collection per panel.

With all panel mounting schemes, shading of any part of the solar panelhas to date been deemed undesirable, especially for PV panels which havepoor electrical characteristics when shaded. One aspect of the presentinvention is to provide a new methodology of intra- and inter-PV panelelectrical wiring that is designed to specifically allow for parallelpanel-to-panel shading while maintaining optimum power conversion. Thesecret is to realize that similarly shaded PV cells produce similarelectrical outputs, and parallel panel-to-panel shading produces columnsor rows within each panel with common electrical characteristics. Byconnecting these “shading-common” rows/columns together into longstrings, either parallel or serial, you end up with an optimizedconversion of “like output producing” PV cells. It is also necessary tobe certain that the PV cells themselves are oriented/created to optimizeshading in the design direction of the panel-to-panel shading. The sameis true with shading from any long straight item that is parallel tosolar panels such as a roof ridge line or roof parapet wall.

Further, net combined per area and per panel output have been limitedbecause inter-panel shading cannot generally be tolerated. When a cellwithin a panel is shaded, it dramatically changes the electrical poweroutput of that cell, especially the electrical current output. Sinceeach “PV cell” produces a voltage of only about 0.5 VDC, many cells arestrung together in series to obtain higher DC voltages before conversionto AC power is performed. Because these are “series” connections, if anyone cell is shaded then its lowered current will dramatically affect theoutput of the whole series or “string”. Many other attempts toaccommodate such shading have been described, but none that openlyembraces and designs for wholesale across-the-array shading as describedherein. By breaking through this previously perceivedinter-panel-shading limit, the net power output of an array of PV panelscan be dramatically increased.

Further, existing assembly of PV arrays is a very labor intensiveactivity requiring many clamps and bolts, and large numbers of workerson-site. The future of the planet may well depend on acceleration of PVarray installation, generating the requirement for faster assembly andlower cost installation.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

This invention makes a significant increase in solar energy systemcost-effectiveness by providing a fully integrated new panel,electrical, mounting, and installation system that both reduces cost andincreases deployment speed. It integrates synergistic PV panel upgrades,PV electrical system upgrades, and in-the-field robotic assembly of PVarrays. This integrated system creates a disruptive leap forwardfacilitating rapid deployment of turn-key utility-scale and largecommercial PV array solutions with significantly higher energy outputper unit area.

At the core of this integrated solution is the triad of a newshade-common PV cell and panel wiring scheme, inter-panel connectorsystem, and mounting and installation systems. Tracking solar collectorsyield the highest power output per PV panel, but tracking alwaysrequires using extra land to avoid row-to-row shading. The root of thislimitation is in the way solar “cells” are wired together within eachpanel. We present a new way to wire the panels themselves and therows/columns of a PV array to eliminate the power degradation fromrow-to-row or panel-to-panel shading while tracking. The techniquesignificantly increases overall array power output during panel-to-panelshading by allowing maximum power available from direct sunlight andadding the additional power available from full sky exposure.

This new cell and panel wiring scheme requires more connectors betweenpanels. To make it a more cost-effective overall system a new combinedelectrical and structural inter-panel connector and matching structuralframe system is included. These new connectors and structural framesallow panels to frame support members by “plugging” together without theuse of clamps or wires, and only requiring enough bolts to connect thecross frame member to a long truss—no bolts on the panels themselves.This new structural system is further made cost effective by a new polemount system using standard screw anchors and a pole such as used forutility poles world-wide. An automated system for installation of thesepoles with screw anchors is part of the cost-effective new system.

To complete the new cost-effective solar collector system, a fully selfcontained robotic array assembly system is described for assembly andinstallation of at least 1MW of solar array in a single day directlyfrom shipping containers and flatbed trucks with a very small but wellpaid support team. Delivered as a single “shipping container”, therobotic PV array assembly system can easily go anywhere large solararrays are being installed. Right now, the pace of PV deployment is setto rapidly accelerate due to market forces, and our robotic arrayassembly system will be a significant enabling technology for thatacceleration. Robotic array assembly together with a new connectormethod enabled by the target wiring method can reduce the cost of largePV array installation labor costs to $0.07/W from $0.20/W, and improvedensity of tracking arrays to lower land cost at least 30%. The roboticassembly system is directly designed to work with the new standardizedframe structure, and also includes an automated delivery crawler formoving fully completed array sections from the robotic assembly systemto their final installation location such that the array sectionassembly robotic system need only be moved daily as a full large-scalearray is built. The robotic array assembly system further can havebuilt-in deploying wheels so the daily movements on site can be underthe assembly system's own power.

All together, this new integrated solar system further facilitatesdesign of standardized array areas and power layout schemes such thatall cabling will also be standardized and readily shipped with theassembly system to each installation site to dramatically reduce on-siteelectrical work and to eliminate all on-site complexity. The new systemturns all electrical work into a plug-n-play except utility high voltagegrid interconnection. It is further possible this can facilitate“product-mode” delivery of the high-voltage grid interconnectioncomponents needed within the solar array area. The use of standardizedarray areas even further reduces engineering costs which have beenestimated at as much as $0.16/W or 8% of overall solar arrayinstallation cost.

Regarding the new shade-common wiring scheme, when long rows of panelsare tilted there will always be 3 parallel sets of cells—1) those infull sun, 2) those in full hard shade, and 3) those in partialsun/partial shade. Furthermore, in the situation with parallel rows orcolumns of panels, these shadows are always parallel to the rows/columnsof PV cells within panels which will make power output of the cellswithin each of the “3 sets” of rows/columns well matched and thus wellsuited for optimum power conversion with an appropriately designed powerconversion apparatus. The individual rows/columns of each panel can bewired completely in series based on the equally shaded rows/columnsmaking typically 5 or 6 “sets” (equal to the numbers of rows/columns ina panel)—a wiring scheme that does not require any “selection/routing”equipment at each panel. Alternatively, a hybrid arrangement of theseapproaches is possible, with the common element that the power thatarrives at the inverters (DC-to-AC converters) is “shade-common” andthus having common electrical conversion parameters.

This new parallel wiring scheme of a set of series “shade-common”circuits further leads to new inverter apparatus opportunities that canreduce the number of inverters required for a solar array. These optionsinclude using one (1) inverter per shade-common circuit, using a singleinverter for all the circuits within parallel panels (e.g., 5-6circuits), or using a middle number of inverters based on constructioneconomics and the ability to combine shade-common circuits togetherbefore power conversion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The following is a description of one possible embodiment of thisinvention.

FIG. 1 is a wide view of the robotic assembly apparatus, showing therobotic system (4) with material shipping containers (3) positioned forautomated off-loading, and flatbed trucks with truss sections (6) backedup to the end of the robotic system with the truss crane (5). One truss(7) is loaded onto the robotic system (4) and shown under partialassembly with already installed PV panels (8). Also shown is one fullycompleted array (2) in the temporary holding position, with a craneready to lift it for final positioning with the crane attachment (9)shown attached to the crane lift cable (1).

FIG. 2 is a close-up depiction of the robotic assembly system showing acompleted array (1) in the holding position on a support frame (14)ready for delivery to mounting posts, with material shipping containers(2) positioned at the unfolded robotic system work platform (3) wherethe robotic fork lift (4) is shown here entering a container to retrievematerial. Also shown is the truss crane robotic device (5) in deployedposition to retrieve truss sections from the flatbed trucks (6) they aredelivered on, with one truss section (7) shown loaded onto the roboticassembly systems support and automated feeding system (8). At the farend of the truss section under assembly we see a panel placement device(11) having already placed panels (13) into position using a panellifting attachment (12). In this view you can see the holes (15) inanother cross member which the combined structural/electrical connectorsare inserted through for structural panel support and electricalconnection to the next panel. Also shown are some of the material stacksready for robotic assembly (9) and some of the support apparatus such asthe compressor (10) and generator (16).

FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of an aerial view of the work layout for therobotic system (1) showing its deployed work platform (4) with materialshipping containers (5) positioned for robotic unloading, and showingflat bed trucks (3) positioned at the truss crane (2) end of the roboticsystem with one truss and some panels (10) loaded onto the roboticassembly system and partially assembled. From the temporary holdingposition for completed array sections (6), shown is one completed arraysection (8) being moved with a robotic crawler (7) via a pre-determinedpath (12) to its final resting position on posts (11), with somecompleted array sections (9) having already been installed and moreposts (11) already installed and ready for completed array sections.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of a ground screw mounted post (1) where atruss section is mounted (2) in this embodiment with a base plate (3)bolted (5) to the ground anchors (4) which were screwed into the ground(6).

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a ground screw anchored post (1)where a truss section is mounted (3) with guy wires (2) attached atrings (8) on the post (1), where the post has a bottom plate (5) whichis partially buried in the ground (4) and the guy wires (2) are alsoattached to the ground anchors (7) which were screwed into the ground attheir top rings (6) to fully secure the post (1).

FIG. 6 is a depiction of the claimed embedded connectors for rapidlyinstalling panels with long strings of shade-common circuits. The Panels(1 & 3) have at one end insertion connectors (2) with matching jacks onthe other end of the panels. A cross section of the panel (1) is shown(3) with the insertion connector's conductor (5) on one end and jack (4)on the other end, with a sealing o-ring (6) behind the conductor (5) onthe connector end to create a weather-tight seal. An optional “connectorretraction” mechanism (7) is shown to allow removal and insertion of apanel in the middle of a long set of installed panels. An alternateapproach to allow removal and insertion of a panel in the middle of along set of installed panels is via a removable bottom portion (11) ofthe panel end containing the jacks (4) such that upon removal of thebottom portion (11), the panel can then be raised off the adjacentconnectors (2/5). A set of string end connectors, jack end (8) andconnector end (9) are shown with wires (10) for connecting adjacentpanel strings. Connector bodies (2) and (4) provide structural supportfor the panels by also going through the holes in the Cross Members asshown in FIG. 2 (15). Please note the depiction of the connector (5)protruding from the body (2) is one possible embodiment for showing inthe drawing, while the likely implementation is a recessed connectorwhich would be difficult to show.

FIG. 7 is a depiction of the shading effect associated with the subjectinvention. Shown are solar panels (3) mounted by some means such as onracks (2) exposed to solar radiation depicted by rays shown at panelcorners (1) with the solar to ground angle shown (8) and the panel toground angle (6) with an inter-panel gap (5) and thus an effectivesun-to-panel angle (7) resulting in partial panel shading (4) for allexcept the end panel. The compass rose (9) shows the typical orientationof the articulation shown, with this figure showing east-to-westtracking. Note there will always be a panel at the end of a set ofpanels that is not shaded (10), but this un-shaded panel will possiblybe at alternate ends of the set of panels at different times of the day(e.g., morning versus afternoon).

FIG. 8 is a depiction of an array of solar panels (2) on a rack system(4) this time on vertical standoffs (3) illuminated by the sun as shownby rays (1) at the panel corners thus creating areas of parallel fullshade (6) and full sun (5), with possibly partially shaded cells at theboundary between the full shade (6) and full sun (5) parts of eachpanel. The set of compass roses (7) (8) and (9) show how this same basicconfiguration can be used regardless of the exact direction of the rowsof panels (2)—parallel panels always produce parallel shadows and thusparallel shade-common sets of cells within panels. Also shown is thefully lit panel row (10) at one side of the array.

FIG. 9 is a depiction of the same shading-common solar scheme but thistime where all panel sets/rows are not always articulated together tooptimize net output. Shown are panels (3) on racks (4) illuminated bythe sun as depicted by rays (1) effecting fully lit panels (3) andfully-shaded panels (2). The fully shaded panel (2) may sometimes befully articulated in unison with other panels (3), and sometimes not asappropriate to maximize power output.

FIG. 10 shows the fundamental change to intra and inter-panel wiringassociated with this invention, where panels (1) containing individualsolar cells (2) are connected in series in sets (3) that are serieswired (4) to the same shade-common set of solar cells in adjacentpanels, and with the panels being oriented so the PV cells within thepanels are oriented to conduct (5) in series. The cells are furtheroriented for optimum power production with shading in the parallelmanner described (a function of the foil pattern on the cells).

FIG. 11 shows a full array of solar panels (1) with solar PV cells (2)arranged into series wired sets (3) and oriented for proper conduction(4) with shade common sets of PV cells (3) being here labeled (5)showing the inter-panel shade common sets (“M” equals the number ofcolumns of cells in these panels) that are wired (6 & 7) as parallelsets. Ellipses (000) depict long sets of both panels and cells in bothdirections. The terminal ends of the array may contain selectors (8)that will reduce the total circuits to being shaded, partially shaded,fully lit, and other variations may be used that further break down theshaded and lit output circuits (9) to optimize cost (see FIGS. 23-26).

FIG. 12 shows one possible configuration for the “outer rows” of panelsor end panels (see FIG. 17 item (10) and FIG. 18 item (10)) that aresometimes fully lit and sometimes shade-common with the rest of thearray, where an “outer row” of panels is here depicted the same as asingle “end panel” for simplicity (1), both being strings of serieswired PV cells (2) forming quantity M parallel long sets of cells (3)that are wired to a switching box (4) at one end, where the switchingbox (4) receives the shade-common circuits (5) from the rest of thearray and also has jumpers (6) from the far ends of these sets of cells,and when this panel(s) are not on the fully sun lit side of the arraythe switching box (4) includes these sets of cells separately with theshading-common circuitry (5) before manifesting the array output at (7),or when at the fully lit end of the array the switching box (4) isolatesthese sets of cells from the shade-common circuits (5) by insteadconnecting those shade-common circuits directly to output (7) andconnecting this fully lit set of cells (1) together into a single serieselectrical circuit (using jumpers (6) and switching in box (4))resulting in a separate PV circuit that is output at (8). This “outerrow” circuit, or a series connection of “end panel” circuits together,are then separately converted to AC or integrated into the invertersshown in FIGS. 23 & 24 with the addition of another DC->AC convertermodule matched in size to this one outer row or set of end panels.

FIG. 13 shows one possible configuration of a multi-circuit integratedinverter assembly (1) that converts the multiple input circuits from thevarious shading-common and “outer row” circuits (4) into output “grid”power (2) under management (3) in this case using a transformer (6) forflux-additive and voltage adapted output (high volt output possible)where multiple individual DC->AC converter modules (5 & 7) are used thuslimiting the size of each converter compared to the net inverter output(2), where converter (7) is shown as being smaller as needed for thepartially shaded circuit which is never more than one string circuit.Another small converter can be included for the currently fully lit“outer row”.

FIG. 14 shows an alternate inverter (1) approach that converts themultiple input circuits from the various shading-common and “outer row”circuits (4) into output “grid” power (2) under computer control (3) inthis case using direct conversion where possible and the DC->ACconverter modules (6 & 7) are sized to allow combining the inputs (4)into power-common circuits (matching V-I properties) using a Selector(5) (also depicted in FIGS. 25 & 26) thus reducing the number ofconverters used while also limiting their size relative to the fullinverter output.

FIG. 15 is a depiction of the Selector shown in FIG. 24 (item (5)) thatconnects the various PV cell circuits (7) that are sometimes Full Shadesometimes Full Sun and sometimes Part Sun (6) to the DC->AC convertermodules (4 & 5) using what is functionally a cross-bar switch (1) bymaking connections (3) where needed to connect the inputs and outputs,always under internal Selector Control (2), in this case a configurationthat uses the minimum number of AC->DC converters possible being oneeach (4) for the Full Shade circuits and one for the Full Sun circuitsand a smaller one (5) for the Part Shade circuit because it is alwayslimited to a single shade-common array circuit. Furthermore, the FullShade converter may be of a smaller size due to the lower power that setof circuits will produce.

FIG. 16 is another depiction of the Selector shown in FIG. 24 (item (5))with all the same components as for FIG. 25, but this time there aremore DC->AC converters such that each one can be of significantlysmaller capacity than the Full Sun converter shown in FIG. 25. Thepurpose of this variation is for cost and reliability management, withthe ultimate balance of net inverter output size and DC->AC convertercount and size being a production/product optimization issue. Shown inFIG. 26, the same six input circuits can be accommodated with DC->ACconverters that will at most have to handle the power of two commoncircuits.

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of a new inverter (1) capability with inputsfrom the solar array (4) and grid power output (2) under computationalcontrol (3) where a special transformer (6) has a large plurality ofprimary coils (9) that are connected in parallel and series and combinedparallel/series in a circuit connection component (8) which alsocontains the sensors and mathematics needed to decide how best toconnect the large plurality of primary coils (9) to the outputs of theprimary DC to AC converters (7 down to 5) for optimum overall conversionof the solar array power to AC.

FIG. 18 shows an embodiment of a PV array circuit monitoring device (5)which is inserted between panels (1 & 4) where each panel has aprotruding connector (3) and receiving connector (2) where one of theprotruding connectors is not seen because it is inserted through a crossframe member (6) and into the circuit monitoring device (5). The circuitmonitoring device (5) also has a protruding connector which is not seenbecause it is inserted through a cross frame and into the receivingconnector (2) of the left panel (1). In this depiction, the circuitmonitoring device (5) is shown as sandwiched between two cross members(6) as may occur at the end of a truss section, but this particularconfiguration is not required so long as panel structural support isproperly maintained.

1. An apparatus being a system for fast and cost-effective on-siteassembly of solar energy collection arrays including: a shade-commonwiring scheme for PV panels and arrays that separately connects fullylit, partially lit, and fully shaded cells; a combined structural andelectrical inter-panel connector to support both the new shade-commonwiring scheme and fast array assembly; a panel support structure forfast array assembly to mount panels using the new combined structuraland electrical inter-panel connectors; an automated self positioningrobotic system for hydraulic installation of screw anchors and posts;and a self contained robotic assembly system delivered as its ownshipping container for fast field assembly and installation of PV arraysutilizing the panel support structure that assembles arrays directlyfrom component parts delivered to the site in shipping containers andflatbed trucks.
 2. (canceled)
 3. An apparatus being a structural supportsystem for mounting and supporting solar panels in installed arrayswhere: the structural support system includes only a truss section, across member supporting adjoining ends of the panels that is fieldattached to the truss section, and a post system to mount the assembledtrusses with panels in their permanent location; and the means ofsecuring the solar panels to the cross member is facilitated by aplurality of combined structural and electrical connectors on the endsof the panels; where the combined structural and electrical connectorsprotrude from one end of each panel, pass through a matching hole in thestructural cross member, and into matching holes in the end frame of thenext panel, and coupling with matching combined connector “plugs” in thenext panel to both physically support the panels and complete electricalcircuits.
 4. (canceled)
 5. The apparatus in claim 3 where a means isprovided to connect the protruding connectors and matching plugs at eachend of a completed row of array sections to wires for connection toadjacent rows and inverter apparatus.
 6. The apparatus in claim 3 wherethe protruding connectors can be retracted so panels can be removedafter installation for repair or replacement.
 7. (canceled) 8.(canceled)
 9. (canceled)
 10. (canceled)
 11. The apparatus in claim 3where the post system is installed with a self positioning roboticapparatus including hydraulic installation of the screw anchors andautomated alignment of the post.
 12. (canceled)
 13. An apparatus being ashade embracing solar PV system with shade-common electrical circuits toallow tracking in dense arrays with maximized power output, where:parallel rows of PV cells are hard wired into separate electricalcircuits; the separate circuits include a) one or more circuits for rowswhich are fully sunlit, b) one or more circuits for rows which are fullyshaded, and c) one circuit for rows which are partially shaded; all PVcells are included in circuits so no available energy is wasted; and theshade-common electrical circuits are each optimally converted from DC toAC power.
 14. The apparatus in claim 13 where the multiple shade-commonelectrical circuits from one panel are each connected to the next panel.15. The apparatus in claim 13 where the shade-common circuits arecombined into a reduced number of circuits before conversion to AC,where the reduced number of circuits are: one circuit for the partiallyshaded cells; one or more circuits selectively assigned to the fullyshaded cells; and one or more circuits selectively assigned to the fullysunlit cells; where the number of circuits available for the fullyshaded and fully sunlit cells is chosen to maximize cost-effectiveness,and the specific assignments are dynamically determined throughout eachday to minimize power loss in wires and connections and maximize totalpower output.
 16. The apparatus in claim 15 where the circuit reductionis performed within each solar panel before connection to the nextpanel, thus reducing the number of inter-panel circuits.
 17. (canceled)18. (canceled)
 19. The apparatus in claim 13 where the conversion fromDC to AC power utilizes a transformer with a plurality of primary coils,where: the primary coils are selectively assigned and connected to theincoming circuits; the primary coils are both serially and parallelassigned to create optimum power conversion without overloading eachcoil; and the assignment is by an embedded computer device withknowledge of the voltage and current on each incoming circuit.
 20. Anapparatus being a field deployable robotic system for in-the-field fullyautomated assembly and installation of solar arrays including: a roboticsystem for assembling fully completed PV array sections from componentelements and flatbed trucks; and a means for delivering completed PVarray sections directly to their permanent location support postswithout the assistance of any manually installed supports or rails;where the robotic assembly system is contained in its own shippingcontainer with self-deploying sides to form a work platform.
 21. Theapparatus in claim 20 where the robotic assembly system includes anapparatus to unload truss elements from their delivery means, move crossmembers from pallets to their mounting positions on the truss, and movePV panels from pallets to their mounting positions on the cross member,and to assemble those elements with any necessary bolts into completesolar array sections.
 22. The apparatus in claim 21 where completedsolar array sections are built by the repetitive process of moving onetruss into assembly position, mounting a cross member to the truss,placing a set of PV panels matching the width of the cross member,advancing the truss to the next cross member location, repeating thecross member and PV panel set placement until the array section iscompleted, then moving the array section to a temporary holding locationfor pickup by the delivery means.
 23. (canceled)
 24. (canceled) 25.(canceled)
 26. (canceled)
 27. (canceled)
 28. The apparatus in claim 20where open shipping containers are placed adjacent to the work platformand a robotic fork lift is used to move pallets of material from thoseshipping containers to the robotic assembly system.
 29. (canceled)
 30. Amethod of building solar arrays directly from components delivered inshipping containers and on flatbed trucks, comprising the ordered stepsof: delivering a robotic system for in-the-field fully automatedassembly; moving the robotic assembly system to the desired position forthe next array area being installed; unloading components from theirshipping containers, including unpacking those components as necessaryto be ready for use; [C] installing array supports with an automatedmeans, including repeating step [B] as needed to unload more supports;[D] completing automated assembly of one array section, includingrepeating step [B] as needed to unload more array section components;[E] moving the completed array section to its final installed supports;repeating steps [C] through [E] as needed until the area of solar arraynear the deployed robotic assembly system has been completed; andrepeating from step [A] until the entire solar array is installed, wherethe steps from [B] onward and any subdivisions of those steps arecompleted in overlapping time as much as possible to maximize the netthroughput of the process.
 31. The method in claim 30 where unloadingcomponents comprises the ordered steps of: opening the sides of therobotic assembly system to form working platforms for automated materialmovement; confirming the automated material unload and assembly areasare free of unintended human traffic, and halting automated unloadinganytime unintended human traffic is detected; deploying an automatedforklift-like means to the working platforms for material movement fromwithin shipping containers to the assembly system; deploying anyautomated crane and crane-like devices of the robotic assembly system;[F] placing opened shipping containers and flatbed trucks with componentmaterials adjacent to the working platforms and automated cranes; [G]unloading the component materials by the automated means, completing anyunpacking steps necessary for those components to be ready for use, andsupplying the materials to the robotic assembly and support installationsystems; repeating from step [G] at any time the supply of any componentmaterials are low to assure continuous assembly; and removing any emptyshipping containers or flatbed trucks and repeating from step [F] asneeded to assure continuous assembly, where the steps from [F] onwardand any subdivisions of those steps are completed in overlapping time asmuch as possible to maximize the net throughput of the process.
 32. Themethod in claim 30 where installing array supports with an automatedmeans comprises the ordered steps of: deploying a self positioningsupport installation means; installing a pre-engineered plan for supportlocations into the support installation means; [H] retrieving supportsfor installation from their shipping means or as already unloaded; [I]moving by automated means to the next pre-engineered support location;aligning the support precisely with the pre-engineered plan using anautomated precision positioning system; installing the support and anyassociated anchors; and repeating from step [I] for the next supportposition, including as needed step [H], until all necessary supports areinstalled, where the steps from [H] onward and any subdivisions of thosesteps are completed in overlapping time as much as possible to maximizethe net throughput of the process. 33) The method in claim 30 wherecompleting automated assembly of one array section comprises the orderedsteps of: moving one truss into assembly position; retrieving andmounting one cross member to the [J] feeding a set of PV panels intendedto be the width of the array section to their correct position along thecross member; engaging the panels with the already installed crossmember; retrieving and positioning the next cross member, engaging itwith the unattached ends of the panels, and attaching it to the truss;optionally connecting and securing inter-panel wiring and panelgrounding; repeating from step [J] until panels equaling the intendedlength of the array section are in place; and moving the completed arraysection to a holding position for delivery to its final supports, wherethe steps and any further subdivisions of those steps are completed inoverlapping time as much as possible to maximize the net throughput ofthe process.
 34. The method in claim 30 where moving the completed arraysection to its intended installed supports comprises the ordered stepsof: deploying an automated array section crawler for delivery ofcompleted array sections to their supports; [K] retrieving a completedarray section with the crawler from the assembly system; receiving thepre-engineered plan of supports and where to deliver the array sectionfor final installation; accepting any additional operator inputregarding obstructions other than supports; raising the array to passabove any already installed supports while being moved; moving the arraysection to the intended final installation location by automated crawlerusing an automated guidance system while avoiding any obstructions;accurately aligning the array section with its intended supports andlowering it into position; confirming engagement of mechanisms securingthe array section to the supports; returning by automated guidance tothe assembly system while avoiding any obstructions; and repeating fromstep [K] as long as array sections are being produced, where the stepsfrom [K] onward and any subdivisions of those steps are completed inoverlapping time as much as possible to maximize the net throughput ofthe process.